The Advertisement
by EssieJane2
Summary: There's always something you don't know about even your best friend.


The Advertisement

JD looked around at the mess that was his and Buck's living room. Well, it wasn't quite such a mess as usual, right now. The team were supposed to be coming over and he and Buck had been cleaning up. They'd done the kitchen already, between them, and now he was doing the living room while Buck finished up with the bathroom. (They figured they could just keep the bedroom doors closed.)

He was mostly done, with just the area around the couch and the coffee table still to do. A few stray magazines - most of Buck's Playboys and the like had already been banished back to his bedroom, but he was still finding the odd one. Like whatever that was peeking out from under the couch. Bending to retrieve it, intending to add it to the pile of Wilmington's stuff off to one side, he found that it wasn't a girly publication at all. In fact it looked like some kind of women's magazine. Ah well, one of Buck's 'friends' had probably left it behind. He moved over to put it in the rubbish bag when suddenly the date caught his eye. This thing was 20 years old! What the hell? Who kept magazines that long? Especially junk like this.

He knew that some of Buck's magazines were 'vintage', but, well, that was different. They were (apparently) 'collectibles'. This on the other hand was just an old collection of recipes and gossip about long-forgotten celebrities that no-one had even heard of anymore. He frowned and debated whether to toss it or maybe ask his roommate if he remembered which lady had left it behind. In the end, he decided on the latter. For someone to keep something like this, for this long, there must be something special in it, he figured. Special to the owner, anyway, and they probably wouldn't want to lose it. It wasn't like it would be easy to replace, either. Not after all this time.

He put it on the freshly cleared coffee table and continued to clean. Forgetting about it until Wilmington came out of the bathroom a short time later. "Well, I'm all done. How're you getting on in here?" JD was about to answer when the older man caught sight of the magazine. "Hey, where'd you find that? I've been looking for that!" Moving over and picking it up, a broad smile on his face.

"That's yours?" JD frowned, confused. "It was under the couch. I figured one of your lady friends had left it behind. I was going to toss it when I noticed the date and I kind of figured that there must be something special in it if she'd kept it this long - and that she'd probably want it back."

His roommate just grinned. "Oh yeah, there's something special in there, Kid - and you're right, I'd hate to lose it." The smile was reminiscent now, as he flipped through the pages, ending up at one in particular. Holding it out for the younger man to see.

At first sight it just looked like a standard ad. Nothing special. A good-looking, well-built, young man, wearing nothing but a pair of underwear shorts. The brand name prominently displayed. It wasn't until he took a second look that he realised... "That's you!"

"Yeah, Kid. That's me." Buck grinned at his friend's shock. "Didn't know I'd been a model, did you?"

"No. I didn't." JD stared at the picture open-mouthed. The version of his friend in the ad was young, he realised now, probably only about 20 or so, if that and clean-shaven. He'd never known Buck without his prized moustache, and he said so.

"Yeah. I hadn't grown it then." Buck's smile was reminiscent, as he turned the picture back towards himself. "I was only 17. I'd just graduated highschool. Chris and I were planning on going into the navy, but they wouldn't take me until I was 18, so I had a few months to kill." He moved over and sat down on a chair, JD sitting on the sofa across from him. "A friend had got me a pass to a local gym and I used to work out fairly regularly. I was never exactly skinny, but well, it filled in time and I figured a few exrtra muscles couldn't hurt. especially with some of the stories I'd heard about boot camp. I was working a couple of part-time jobs to make some extra cash and one day, one of my bosses - who knew I went to the gym - asked if I'd like to do something extra.

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking, Kid. I thought the same thing myself, at first." He looked up at the younger man, smiling. "That it was something sleazy, or just plain nasty, but he assured me it was all on the up and up and well, I figured I could take care of myself." He snorted slightly at his younger self's naivety. "My boss told me all I had to do was go along and talk to the people. If I didn't want to do it, I could always turn them down.

"Long story short, they wanted a 'fresh face' for a new advertising campaign. A new brand they were trying to get on the market. It paid well and I figured what the hell. Why not?" He grinned at his roommate and JD grinned back. It sounded like something Buck would do.

"In the end, it never really went anywhere. A few ads like this one, in magazines and that was about it. I got some spending money out of it and a good story to tell and that was about all, really. The new brand didn't take and they shut it down after about six months. By then I was in the military and didn't really care. A friend" The sparkle in his eye told JD exactly what gender that 'friend' had been "came across this a few years ago and passed it on to me. I'd all but forgotten about it by then, to be honest" He gave a small snort of laughter as he caught his roommate's eye, adding "but I can tell you, Kid, telling the ladies you've been a model - especially if you can prove it - well it does add a certain something to the relationship, if you know what I mean."

JD just rolled his eyes. He'd heard so many tales from his friend about his relationships with women, this was just one more.

"Anyway, I'd better put this away somewhere safe." Wilmington rose and headed back towards the bedroom "then I'll help you finish up in here and we should be done by the time the guys get here."

"Yeah, ok." JD smiled. His friend was full of surprises, but somehow this one didn't surprise him at all. Shaking his head, he went back to his cleaning and with the other man's help, they had the place at least presentable by the time the doorbell rang, announcing the rest of the team's arrival. The magazine and the advertisement within, put away safely until the next time it's owner wanted to impress a lady or just relive an old memory. The campaign may not have been a major success but the advertisement still had it's uses.


End file.
